US GP: Kawasaki Friday notes

TOUGH START TO LAGUNA WEEKEND FOR KAWASAKI
The Kawasaki Racing Team endured a difficult opening day at Laguna Seca,
but Jamie Hacking and Anthony West remain confident of significant
improvements tomorrow, once their respective crews have found...

TOUGH START TO LAGUNA WEEKEND FOR KAWASAKI

The Kawasaki Racing Team endured a difficult opening day at Laguna Seca,
but Jamie Hacking and Anthony West remain confident of significant
improvements tomorrow, once their respective crews have found a solution
to the front-end problems that plagued both riders during today's two
practice sessions.

The technical and twisty Laguna Seca circuit demands that a rider has the
utmost confidence in front-end grip, and both Kawasaki riders struggled
today to find a set-up that provided the required level of feedback from
the front tyre.

This lack of feeling resulted in Anthony West crashing heavily during
this afternoon's hour-long practice session, after losing the front under
braking for turn two. The 27-year-old Australian was uninjured in the
crash, but struggled to regain his confidence in the front-end of the
bike during the remaining 20 minutes of the session.

Kawasaki's engineers will investigate the problem overnight using the
data collected during today's two free practice sessions, and they are
confident of finding a solution that will allow both riders to realise
their full potential ahead of tomorrow's all-important qualifying
session.

Despite the set-up problems, Jamie Hacking maintains that he has enjoyed
making his MotoGP debut today. The 37-year-old British born rider has
adapted quickly to the demands of riding a pure prototype racer like the
Ninja ZX-RR, and he completed both of today's practice sessions without
incident.

Jamie Hacking - #12 - 18th - 1'24.050

"The important thing is that we've made it through both practice sessions
safely today. When I tested the bike in Japan I felt comfortable straight
away, but Laguna is a very different racetrack to Autopolis and the bike
feels very different here. We made some set-up changes for the second
session this afternoon, but they didn't lead to the improvements we were
expecting, which meant I wasn't able to improve on my lap time from the
morning practice. I could have pushed a bit harder, but without the
feeling from the front end there would have been some risk. We will look
at improving the front-end feeling overnight, and my aim tomorrow is
simply to continue making progress with the set-up of the bike. I'm not
looking for anything crazy going into qualifying tomorrow, as long as we
keep improving with every session then I'll be satisfied."

Anthony West - #13 - 19th - 1'24.483

"The conditions were quite difficult this morning, with mist still
hanging around some parts of the circuit. We had some difficulties
getting the bike to turn in and hold a line during the first practice
session, but this was much improved for the second session this
afternoon. We still have issues with the front-end; you need to have
confidence in the front-end grip at this circuit, and it still feels a
bit vague at the moment through some sections of the track. Halfway
through the session I decided to push harder anyway, and that's when I
lost the front under braking for turn two. It was a big crash, but
luckily I didn't do any more damage to my back. The team are working hard
now to find a solution to the front-end problem, and I'm confident that
they'll have it sorted for tomorrow's practice and qualifying sessions."

Kaneko - Kawasaki Technical Manager

"Both riders are complaining of a lack of feeling from the front-end, and
this makes it difficult for them to have the confidence to push for a
fast lap time. Obviously we need to find a solution to this issue ahead
of tomorrow's practice and qualifying sessions and, together with
Bridgestone, we will be looking at the data to identify what we need to
change overnight. I'm confident that, if we can give the riders more
feedback from the front, then we will see significant improvements in
their lap times tomorrow."